I think it's great to have a mentor. When I started my Tableau journey I didn't have a mentor as such, but I did take inspiration from all the great people in the Tableau community who offered help and support as I was learning to use Tableau. When I was lucky enough to join The Information Lab (a Tableau partner in the UK) and become a Tableau Consultant I then starting working alongside a Zen master (Craig Bloodworth) and some really talented individuals. They have all been my mentors in one way or another.

Now I mentor a student at our Data School in London, so all the skills I've learnt with Tableau and being a Consultant in general I can pass on. Plus I can pick up a new perspective on Tableau which is always great!

Mentoring is a great thing, but we don't have to have a strict mentor program in a sense - we can gain insight and support form the Tableau community in so many ways.

Agree, Emma Whyte I have many different mentors who serve me in different capacities. So while I really only have one person who knows that I consider her a mentor formally, I have lots of other mentors who are probably unaware that I consider them as such!

I didn't have a mentor when I started using Tableau. The community forums were my "teachers", and I quickly discovered who the most reliable "trainers" were...those now recognized as Jedi. That's one of the things I love about Tableau's culture. Everyone is so open to helping everyone else and freely sharing their expertise. Now I'm finding mentors on Twitter. I created a profile specifically for following Tableau wizards (and to keep on top of things during the conference), and have expanded that network by following people who others are following, or who are often re-tweeted. So I guess my mentors are Google search and Twitter!

Hey there! I love the whole mentoring concept. I didn't have a mentor...it was really through social media (primarily twitter) where I met some folks and started reading blogposts from Matt Francis, Andy Cotgreave, Kelly Martin, and Anya A'Hearn, Jonathan Drummey, and Andy Kriebel. I;ve been able to ask these folks for advice and feedback on vizzes, which has been tremendous, especially as a non-data person. At work (not data viz related), I've found my best mentoring comes from informal mentors who I've made a genuine connection with.

If you have a Tableau User Group in your area, that's a great way to find a mentor. If you don't have one, another good place to find a mentor is the annual Tableau Conference. If you're basically on your own in your workplace or your location, use the internet! A lot of the Tableau Zen Masters have blog sites and/or answer a LOT of questions in the Tableau forums. As I mentioned, I don't have a mentor, but just because of spending time online I ended up being "mentored" by ALL the Zen Masters and the best of the best!

I didn't realize how important it was to to have mentors until later in my 20s.

I was once a disconnected youth and had no one to look up to, it is especially hard being a latina woman. It wasn't until I started working at a nonprofit that I gained mentors, one which gave me the opportunity to discover my passion for data. Ever since then I've worked my way up as a data analyst. I am now in the process of learning Tableau and how I can apply to my current position. I'm hoping to meet some amazing women who can become my mentors at Tableau Conference in Las Vegas!

I recently started using Tableau and I do not have a mentor. I use the community forums and my user group, as well as just plain old trial & error. I would love to have a mentor, but there's just no one available in my area.

I recently started using Tableau and I do not have a mentor. I use the community forums and user groups, as well as just plain old trial & error. I would love to have a mentor, but there's just no one available in my area. Thanks.

Great topic. I also put my first steps here and found Community, Twitter, Blogs and Community Innitiatives really helpful. I have some mentors in my mind (they even don't know it) but I really on their open advice, tweets and Public Gallery. I am really motivated and every day put one step forward

Would you be willing to have a mentor that's not in your area? Video conferencing has really helped me out. Is there a specific area or specific characteristics that you're looking for a mentor in or more general? I'm happy to facilitate a connection, if you still want/need one.

If the offer is open to all then I would be interested to at least have a conversation with someone outside of my work environment to get a better understanding of how they started out and what I should be working on. I'm still new to Tableau and have already built out a career in operations but can definitely see myself making a transition to the world of tech and the more specifically tableau.

I have started my journey 10 months back,and no one at my workplace works on Tableau,they just have heard about this great tool. Have started this tool out of curiosity and now i am in love with this tool.

What i feel is if you have a mentor,it will ease you journey, for me, i am very active on LinkedIn and now have a good Tableau connection there . Apart from that i am try to be active on community, and tableau public.

Have learned a lot from these groups and thankful to everyone for there support/feedback.

I would love to be mentored on my path but still not sure how to proceed with this mentoring process.